DIY sweatshirt refashion - trompe l'oeil plaid

Giving shape and style to an old, oversized sweatshirt:

completely inspired by 3.1 Phillip Lim

left: la garconne - collage by moi

trompe l'oil plaid sweatshirt refashion: supplies

you need:
* an oversized plain sweatshirt (if you don't have an old one in your closet, Hanes  are cheap!)
* small piece of knit fabric (optional - not needed if the sweatshirt is too long, in this case the extra length of the sweatshirt can be cut off))
* a Seam Ripper
* ruler and a white water soluble marker (Dritz Mark B Gone Combo Pack)
* scissors, thread of the color of your sweatshirt
* sewing machine
* Twin Needles Size 80 - 3.0mm (for the topstitching)

trompe l'oil plaid sweatshirt refashion: tutorial / how-to:

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separate the front of the sweatshirt using the seam ripper

surprises of the DIY: note how this sweatshirt is all twisted and badly cut: luckily, since it's really big, I'll be able to fix that.

Using the rulers and a water soluble marker, trace the pattern of the plaid

note: 

I wanted to remove the logo of the sweatshirt (indicated with the " <---"  ) 

and the front had a small hole that I circled around, 

therefore the size of my plaid was determined by these two factors.

write a number into the squares, and take a picture, so in case of a disaster,
you know how to re-compose your pattern !

cut along the lines

Looking at the picture, some parts of the pattern are sewn on the reverse, to give the plaid an even more textured look.
Because my sweatshirt is really big and bulky, I used a piece of paper to trace the part of the armhole, and matching the shape of the other side of the sweatshirt (since the two sides are cut in a completely different way), then flip the fabric inside out, and cut along the pattern

I cut two strips of navy blue heavy knit fabric (1-1/2" wide )  

patiently, start to sew the pieces together, using a zig zag stitch with seams on the right side

sew: 1 to 3 - 2 to the big part inside out,  4 to 11, then 4-11 to the 2 and big and so on until you have 4 different quadrants, then use the two strips previously cut and bast the quadrants on the strips positioned as a cross.
Sew the sides of the quadrants on the strips leaving 1/4" from the side, with a small zig-zag stitch.

re-size (if necessary) the back of the sweatshirt accordingly to the new shape of the front, and  re-size the sleeves 

place back the collar and use the twin needle for the topstitching -
I did the twin needle topstitching also on the shoulders and on the waistband. 

hope you like it!

xox, d.

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